The Short Story Literary Elements What is a short story? What elements make it a distinct genre?

Story ‘Parts’  Setting  Characters  Plot  Conflict  Theme  Literary Techniques  Figurative Language

SettingSetting Details that describe: Furniture Furniture Scenery Scenery Customs Customs Transportation Transportation Clothing Clothing Dialects Dialects Weather Weather Time Time of day of year Time and place are where the action occurs

Elements of a Setting

The Functions of a Setting  To create a mood or atmosphere  To show a reader a different way of life  To make action seem more real  To be the source of conflict or struggle  To symbolize an idea We left the home place behind, mile by slow mile, heading for the mountains, across the prairie where the wind blew forever. At first there were four of us with one horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa and I walked, because I was a big boy of eleven. My two little sisters romped and trotted until they got tired and had to be boosted up to the wagon bed. That was no covered Conestoga, like Pa’s folks came West in, but just an old farm wagon, drawn by one weary horse, creaking and rumbling westward to the mountains, toward the little woods town where Pa thought he had an old uncle who owned a little two-bit sawmill. Taken from “The Day the Sun Came Out” by D. Johnson

Types of Characters  People or animals  Major characters  Minor characters  Round characters / 3 dimensional  Flat characters / 1 dimensional

Characterization  A  A writer reveals what a character is like and how the character changes throughout the story.  Two  Two primary methods of characterization: Direct- Direct- writer tells what the character is like Indirect- Indirect- writer shows what a character is like by describing what the character looks like, by telling what the character says and does, and by what other characters say about and do in response to the character.

Direct Characterization … And I don’t play the dozens or believe in standing around with somebody in my face doing a lot of talking. I much rather just knock you down and take my chances even if I’m a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky. From “Raymond’s Run” by T. Bambara

Indirect Characterization The old man bowed to all of us in the room. Then he removed his hat and gloves, slowly and carefully. Chaplin once did that in a picture, in a bank--he was the janitor. From “Gentleman of Rio en Medio” by J. Sedillo

Elements of Character

Factors in Analyzing Characters  Physical appearance of character  Personality  Background/personal history  Motivation  Relationships  Conflict  Does character change?

Plot Plot is what happens and how it happens in a narrative. A narrative is any work that tells a story, such as a short story, a novel, a drama, or a narrative poem. We analyze how a plot unfolds using the basic plot pyramid structure.

Parts of a Plot  Introduction / Exposition – contains the setting, creates the tone and presents characters  Inciting incident – event that gives rise to conflict  Rising Action - events that occur as result of central conflict  Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of story  Falling Action – Events leading up to the resolution  Resolution- when conflict ends  Denouement- when characters go back to their life before the conflict

Diagram of Plot Inciting incident/ Opening situation Introduction Development/ Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution / Denouement

Special Techniques of Plot  Suspense- excitement or tension  Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story  Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past  Irony – the contrast between what is expected or what appears to be and what actually is.

Conflict  Conflict  Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces  Every  Every plot must contain some kind of conflict  Stories  Stories can have more than one conflict  Conflicts  Conflicts can be external or internal External External conflict- conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle Internal Internal conflict- conflict- takes place in a character’s mind

Theme A central message, concern, or insight into life expressed through a literary work  Can be expressed by the way the story makes us feel  May be stated directly through the thoughts and conversations of characters  May be suggested through characters ( What does the character learn?)  May be suggested through actions or events.

Examples of Theme Loss of Innocence The Noble Sacrifice Fall From Grace Love Conquers All Revenge Ruins Good vs Evil Absolute power corrupts absolutely Compromise saves Relationships Crime Doesn’t Pay

Figurative Language Any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words in order to furnish new effects or fresh insights into an idea or subject. IMAGERY SIMILE METAPHOR ALLITERATION PERSONIFICATION ONOMATOPOEIA HYPERBOLE

Seven Crucial Questions... to get you started 1. What is the setting/locale? 2. Who is the protagonist? antagonist? Describe character relationships. 3. What is the central conflict/problem the protagonist is facing? What type of conflict is it and how is this evident? 4. What are the seven stages of the plot pyramid? 5. What is the mood of the story and how is this evident? 6. What figurative language and/or literary techniques are used? 7. What is the theme/message of the story?